A roof apparatus including a front panel positioned at a frontward area of an opening formed on a roof portion of a vehicle and a rear panel positioned at a rearward area of the opening is known. A roof apparatus disclosed in US2010/0084893A1, hereinafter referred to as Reference 1, is an example of such roof apparatus. As FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate, the roof apparatus disclosed in Reference 1 includes a front panel 102 that opens and closes a frontward area of an opening 101 that is formed on a roof portion 100 of a vehicle, a rear panel 103 that covers a rearward area of the opening 101, and a guide rail 104 that is arranged at an end portion in a vehicle width direction of the opening 101 and extends in a frontward-rearward direction of the vehicle, where the frontward-rearward direction of the vehicle refers to a direction perpendicular to the surface where the FIGS. 11A and 11B are drawn. Furthermore, a link member 105, which is linked to an end portion in the vehicle width direction of the front panel 102, is slidably connected to the guide rail 104.
In the roof apparatus, the link member 105 makes movements including a sliding movement to bring the front panel 102, for example, to a state known as a pop-up state, which is a state where the front panel 102 is raised in an upward direction relative to the roof portion 100 and the rear panel 103. Furthermore, in the roof apparatus, the link member 105 makes movements including a sliding movement to, for example, slide the front panel 102 in a rearward direction of the vehicle while retaining the front panel 102 in the pop-up state to open the frontward area of the opening 101. At the time of opening the frontward area of the opening 101, the front panel 102, which is in the pop-up state, moves to a position above the rear panel 103.
Upon the arrangement described herewith, the link member 105, which is linked to the end portion in the vehicle width direction of the front panel 102, projects above the roof portion 100 and the rear panel 103 through a clearance formed between an edge portion 103a of the rear panel 103, the edge portion 103a that is in a vehicle width direction, and an edge portion 101a of the opening 101 that is formed in a flange form. Accordingly, a clearance width A2 of a clearance C102 is defined larger than a clearance width A1 of a clearance C101. The clearance C102 is the clearance formed between the edge portion 101a of the opening 101 and the edge portion 103a of the rear panel 103, the edge portion 103a that is in a vehicle width direction. The clearance C101 is the clearance formed between the edge portion 101a of the opening 101 and an edge portion 102a of the front panel 102, the edge portion 102a that is in the vehicle width direction, where the front panel 102 is in a fully closed state.
Note that a first weather strip 106 having a substantially D-shape cross section is attached to the edge portion 101a of the opening 101 such that the first weather strip 106 makes liquid tight contact with the edge portion 102a of the front panel 102, the edge portion 102a that is in the vehicle width direction, in a state where the front panel 102 is in the fully closed state. Furthermore, a second weather strip 107 having a substantially D-shape cross section is attached to the edge portion 103a of the rear panel 103, the edge portion 103a that is in a vehicle width direction, such that the second weather strip 107 makes liquid tight contact with the first weather strip 106. In other words, the second weather strip 107 is provided for closing an additional clearance of the clearance width A2 relative to the clearance width A1 in order to prevent entry, for example, of water drops or rain drops through the additional clearance.
The link member 105, which is linked to the end portion in the vehicle width direction of the front panel 102, basically projects above the roof portion 100 by resiliently deforming the second weather strip 107. Furthermore, the link member 105 slides on the second weather strip 107 by resiliently deforming the second weather strip 107 in a state where the front panel 102 makes a sliding movement.
In a state where the roof portion 100 in a state where the front panel 102 is in the fully closed state is viewed from an upward direction, which is from a direction that looks at a design surface, a portion where the edge portion 102a of the front panel 102 and the edge portion 103a of the rear panel 103 abut is out of alignment in the vehicle width direction due to a positional difference of the edge portion 102a and the edge portion 103a in the vehicle width direction, where the edge portion 102a and the edge portion 103a refer to the edge portions that are in the vehicle width direction. In other words, an alignment of the edge portion 102a of the front panel 102 and the edge portion 103a of the rear panel 103 is off in the vehicle width direction by an amount of the second weather strip 107, where the edge portion 102a and the edge portion 103a refer to the edge portions that are in the vehicle width direction. Accordingly, resulting appearance at boundaries of the edge portion 102a and the edge portion 103a becomes less pleasing because the boundaries of the edge portion 102a and the edge portion 103a do not form a substantially straight line in the frontward-rearward direction of the vehicle.
Accordingly, a favorable configuration of a roof apparatus includes a weather strip having a substantially equal cross sectional shape throughout the weather strip, the weather strip that is retained on a guide rail or a similar retaining member arranged, for example, at a roof portion, the weather strip that makes liquid tight contact with an edge portion of a roof opening and with each of an edge portion of a front panel and an edge portion of a rear panel, the edge portions that are in the vehicle width direction. Upon the arrangement described herewith, the boundaries of the edge portion of the front panel and the edge portion of the rear panel may form a substantially straight line in the frontward-rearward direction of the vehicle. Accordingly, the resulting appearance at the boundaries may be enhanced.
Each of weather strips in such configuration is required to make liquid tight contact with an edge portion in the vehicle width direction of a rear panel at a rearward area of a roof opening, for example, in a state where a front panel is in a fully dosed state. Furthermore, each of the weather strips in such configuration is required to resiliently deform smoothly as a link member that is projecting above the roof portion slides thereon in a state where the front panel makes a sliding movement. A smooth resilient deformation of the weather strip is required for restraining a weather strip from receiving an excessive load from the sliding movement of the front panel and from repeating unstable resilient deformations that may cause duration of life of the weather strip to lessen. Accordingly, a favorable configuration of a weather strip resiliently deforms smoothly as the link member that is projecting above the surface of the roof portion slides on the weather strip in a state where the front panel makes the sliding movement.
For similar reasons, each of the weather strips in such configuration is required to resiliently deform smoothly in a case where the front panel that has been raised upward descends in a direction of the roof opening to close the roof opening and makes liquid tight contact with an edge portion of the front panel, the edge portion that is in the vehicle width direction.
A need thus exists for a roof apparatus, which is not susceptible to the drawback mentioned above.